Though developed centuries ago, wind-powered devices are still a favored source of power generation today. The windmill, once used to grind grain, has been adapted to produce electricity. Windmills have evolved into wind turbines wherein the wind's power no longer turns stone wheels atop grain, but rather passes magnets alongside wire coils to generate electricity. In wind turbines, the wind's force pushes the vanes of a wheel which act as the rotors of a generator. Turbines have also been adapted to produce electricity by using the flow other fluids such as water, steam, and gas.
Over time, fluid turbines have been developed to work more efficiently in compensating for many of the natural obstacles impeding consistent energy recovery from the fluids. For example, shifts in wind or water direction can stop a fixed fluid turbine; thus, fluid turbines have been constructed with various rotational methods so that the wind or water will strike the blade in the optimum fashion. Further, wind and water turbines have been developed whereby fluctuations in wind or water velocity leave the fluid turbine relatively unaffected in structural integrity.
Fluid turbines are not without their problems, however. One problem that remains is constant power generation from inconsistent forces of the fluid. The magnets and wire coils present some resistance to rotation of the vanes of the fluid turbine. The nearer the magnets and wire coils pass the greater the resistance, which leaves the fluid turbine in a state of inertia in light fluid forces. The counter issue is that the further the magnets and wire coils pass, the less power is generated, particularly in strong fluid forces. As a result, sacrifices are made that limit efficiencies, generally leaving wind turbines operable in 10-30 mph winds and water turbines requiring current velocities of at least approximately 2 m/s.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.